Written questions by Perkins.

What estimate he has made of the completion rate of apprenticeships since the introduction of end point assessment.

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publications.Academic YearsLink2017/18 and 2018/19https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6ec3295a-7b23-401b-7d16-08de89b19a352019/20 and 2020/21https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f46f50b3-ab4e-41ea-cd9e-08de94ac311c2021/22 and 2022/23https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/12038166-ced9-4d01-d48e-08de94ac41332023/24 and 2024/25https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d8f3a9eb-44d8-4f4d-cda2-08de94ac311c

If his Department will provide long-term funding for the JobsPlus programme.

Jobs Plus is a community-led model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The Department is testing the model in ten social housing neighbourhoods to generate evidence on place-based support. The pilots will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work. We will carefully consider what we have learnt from these pilots as we develop our future employment support offer and make decisions on future funding.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of place-based employment support programmes such as JobsPlus on levels of economic inactivity and unemployment.

Jobs Plus is a community-led model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The Department is testing the model in ten social housing neighbourhoods to generate evidence on place-based support. The pilots will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work. We will carefully consider what we have learnt from these pilots as we develop our future employment support offer and make decisions on future funding.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the number of JobsPlus sites.

Jobs Plus is a community-led model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The Department is testing the model in ten social housing neighbourhoods to generate evidence on place-based support. The pilots will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work. We will carefully consider what we have learnt from these pilots as we develop our future employment support offer and make decisions on future funding.

What plans his Department has to support the national rollout of community-led employment programmes such as JobsPlus following the conclusion of the pilot phase.

Jobs Plus is a community-led model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The Department is testing the model in ten social housing neighbourhoods to generate evidence on place-based support. The pilots will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work. We will carefully consider what we have learnt from these pilots as we develop our future employment support offer and make decisions on future funding.

What steps he is taking to help that the Growth and Skills Levy increases levels of apprenticeship start numbers.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and more opportunities for young people in England and support the industrial strategy. In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year. From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units and they will be available in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering.

What progress his Department has made on implementing the Growth and Skills Levy; and when can businesses expect to see changes come into effect.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and more opportunities for young people in England and support the industrial strategy. In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year. From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units and they will be available in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting the age limit for funding of level 7 apprenticeships at 22 years old.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Apprenticeship starts by young people under 25 fell by almost 40% over the last decade. From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, or those aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers. This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England did not find a strong enough economic rationale to exempt any level 7 apprenticeship standards from defunding. While level 7 apprenticeships can be a valuable route for some disadvantaged learners, a significant proportion are from non-deprived backgrounds and are significantly less likely to be deprived than apprentices at lower levels. Level 7 generally has a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, particularly the senior leader apprenticeship (where 99% are over 25) and standards with an embedded postgraduate qualification. Skills England also suggested that de-funding would be unlikely to lead to a significant fall in the supply of these skills in the long term.

What estimate she has made of the number of people currently claiming Carer’s Allowance who would be expected to lose their allowance due to the proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment.

As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of claimants losing their Carer’s Allowance as a result of her Department's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments on local authorities.

As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, this Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House regarding the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that we are going to remove clause 5 from the Bill in Committee. (Hansard, 1 July, col 219) Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, led by me and co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the Personal Independent Payment on (a) carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and (b) people receiving care from carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.

As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

What estimate she has made of the number of working people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who will be forced to leave work if they cease to receive PIP.

No estimate has been made. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost, as it would require a bespoke survey of claimants.

With reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, what steps she plans to take to ensure that (a) work coaches and (b) disability employment advisors understand the barriers to employment faced by disabled people.

This Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to working with disabled people to design our reforms. The Get Britain Working White Paper announced that DWP will establish a panel to consult disabled people as part of our wider efforts to ensure that the views and voices of disabled people are at the heart of the design and delivery of the reforms set out in the White Paper. We will incorporate any changes identified by implementing the Get Britian Working White Paper into the new entrant learning journey and provide relevant learning products to support existing Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers if required. The Department will also launch a new coaching academy. This initiative will seek to build on our existing work coach offer and will provide further upskilling for colleagues to support customers to overcome barriers, making full use of the Jobcentre offer and wider support in our communities. All new Work Coaches and Disability Employments Advisors currently receive the necessary training and development to enable them to support all our claimants. The Department continually impacts, reviews and evaluates the training and development of Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors to ensure they have the most relevant training and skills to support disabled people. In addition to this Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer.

With reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, what steps she plans to take to ensure that disabled people can access specialist careers advice.

As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. We will embed the principles of accessibility and inclusivity into the design of the new service and through the entire user journey, recognising that people have different support needs. As part of the Get Britain Working White Paper reforms, we have committed to establishing a panel to consult disabled people, ensuring that their voices are at the heart of the design and delivery. The National Careers Service website contains a range of information for people with disabilities, including advice on job support for people with disabilities. All disabled people can access careers information and advice through the National Careers Service webchat, telephone helpline and website. People with disabilities are part of a priority group for the Service and can also access in-depth face-to-face support from locally based careers advisers. National Careers Service community-based contractors work with a range of organisations, including specialist providers, to reach customers who are furthest from the labour market, including disabled people.

With reference to the White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published on 26 November 2024, what steps she plans to take to engage with disabled people in the development of the new jobs and careers service.

As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. We will embed the principles of accessibility and inclusivity into the design of the new service and through the entire user journey, recognising that people have different support needs. As part of the Get Britain Working White Paper reforms, we have committed to establishing a panel to consult disabled people, ensuring that their voices are at the heart of the design and delivery. The National Careers Service website contains a range of information for people with disabilities, including advice on job support for people with disabilities. All disabled people can access careers information and advice through the National Careers Service webchat, telephone helpline and website. People with disabilities are part of a priority group for the Service and can also access in-depth face-to-face support from locally based careers advisers. National Careers Service community-based contractors work with a range of organisations, including specialist providers, to reach customers who are furthest from the labour market, including disabled people.